


we sharpened our claws on each other (you didn't leave a scratch)

by realxeyez



Category: Kamen Rider Saber
Genre: Angst, M/M, Touma Fucking Snaps, kento appears for like one sentence sorry kento fans, post-ep 25, the tags make it seem edgier than it actually is, yuuri cares about touma more than he actually lets on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-12
Updated: 2021-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:09:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,543
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29918775
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/realxeyez/pseuds/realxeyez
Summary: the fact that kento is alive doesn’t hit touma properly until he disappears back through the swirling portal, leaving a silent and shocked room. he hadn’t said anything, hadn’t even reacted when touma gasped out his name in a broken tone, just looked at him with that blank look in his eyes.but it was undeniably kento that had laid out on the floor before him- touma could pick him out in a crowd of thousands, even millions.
Relationships: Fukamiya Kento/Kamiyama Touma
Comments: 5
Kudos: 8





	we sharpened our claws on each other (you didn't leave a scratch)

**Author's Note:**

> title from made your mark by the jane austen argument, which i had on loop while writing this. this is un-beta'd like most of my fics because im insane like that

the fact that kento is alive doesn’t hit touma properly until he disappears back through the swirling portal, leaving a silent and shocked room. he hadn’t said anything, hadn’t even reacted when touma gasped out his name in a broken tone, just looked at him with that blank look in his eyes. but it was undeniably kento that had laid out on the floor before him- touma could pick him out in a crowd of thousands, even millions. 

even if it didn’t look like _his_ kento, didn’t have that shine in his eyes that had drawn touma in from the very beginning. 

as the black coat swishes behind him and the portal closes, touma stares after kento silently. he’s still collapsed on the ground, but the pain his body is in is almost like an afterthought compared to the state of his mind. to call it racing would be an understatement- he can barely process what just happened. from the mysterious rider attacking daishinji and oogami to primitive activating at the worst moment possible and-

“kento…?” he chokes out the same words he had uttered only moments ago, still in shock at what he just witnessed. “that was-”

rintaro, who hadn’t said a word since they arrived at the base, slowly makes his way to touma’s side. there’s a wariness to his movement, but he squats next to him and places a hand on touma’s shoulder. “touma-kun…”

“it was kento, right?” touma asks nobody, barely processing rintaro’s presence. he pushes himself up to his knees, letting rintaro’s hand drop. “he didn’t die- you all saw him, he’s back, right?”

the almost frantic tone his voice takes on sets the room on edge. 

touma had always been the closest to kento, their bond as childhood friends outclassing kento’s familial relationships with the rest of the sword of logos, so it’s no surprise that he’s torn up about this. but put together with his unstable state due to the use of primitive dragon? 

“touma-kun.” rintaro repeats, looking a little more serious. “you’re in no position to be moving around right now.” putting aside the fact that touma had very clearly disregarded their promise, his current state was worrying rintaro. calibur- no, kento’s attack had been stronger than anything they had witnessed thus far and who knew what effect it would have on touma’s body. 

silently, touma keeps staring at the space ahead of him. 

“don’t think he’s listenin’ to ya, kid.” oogami groans out, now leaning against the right staircase and clutching his side. reika hadn’t landed any fatal hits, thankfully, but it’s still hard to stand. “shit, she did a number on us, huh?”

across the room, daishinji gives an agreeable grunt. “i think shindai is the least of our concerns right now.” he says, glancing over at touma. there’s an unspoken understanding between everyone that they should get touma out of here before he fully processes what had just happened- and keep the primitive dragon ridebook far, far away from him. 

it’s hard, trying to ignore kento’s sudden reappearance, but rintaro knows that touma’s mental state takes priority right now. “we need to get him back to the bookstore; i’ll call mei-san-”

yuuri, who doesn’t look particularly surprised about the turn of events, de-henshins and turns to rintaro with an odd sort of look on his face. “i’ll call her. you should focus on touma right now.” he says simply, glancing at the space where kento once stood out of the corner of his eye. “it’s best that we don’t tell anybody else about what occurred here today.”

apparently tuning in, touma whips his head up at yuuri like he had just killed kento again. “what...what are you saying? ren-kun and mei-chan… they deserve to know that kento is alive! how will keeping this a secret do any good?” he chokes on a laugh, ignoring rintaro’s protests as he tries to stand up. “the reason we’re all in this mess is because nobody likes telling the truth around here!”

“you seriously think telling that runt would help?” oogami asks, as if ren’s reaction is at all relevant right now. “we can discuss this later- half of us are bleeding out on the floor.”

“is anybody really surprised?” rintaro murmurs to himself, before moving to steady touma’s weakened frame. “we’ll discuss kento-kun later, just calm down-”

the sharp laugh that leaves touma rings harshly in rintaro’s ears, the novelist staggering out of his hold. “are any of you actually listening to me? kento reveals himself as calibur and nearly kills me, but all you guys want to do is pretend like it didn’t happen!”

“we’re all injured too!” oogami points out, “this is hard for us too, novelist. you think we aren’t shocked at the fact that kento’s alive?”

“you sure don’t act like it!” touma snarls, resembling a sound he had made prior under the influence of primitive dragon. somewhere inside him he knows that arguing with his friends isn’t going to help, but everything is just so overwhelming that it’s easier to focus on his negative emotions rather than think things through calmly. 

“touma.” yuuri interrupts sharply, face set in a frown. “there’s no need to go this far.”

another laugh escapes touma. “...this far?” he asks hollowly, “you didn’t even know him! i’d like to think my reaction to someone i love coming back and attacking me is pretty suitable!”

nobody seems to want to reply to that. nobody is really sure what sort of reply it warrants, either. it feels too personal, like a secret touma never meant to share. (rintaro thinks it was, given how quickly he had gone from mourning kento to fighting for him. something just for him to know, to keep him going. not to be blurted out in a fit of torment, surrounded by an unwilling audience.)

it’s yuuri who speaks up, either not realising the weight of touma’s confession or just not caring. like touma said, he never actually knew kento (at the very least, kento never knew of _him_ ) so his outbursts fall on deaf ears. “nobody here is your enemy. you’re acting no better than primitive dragon, snapping at your comrades like this.”

it hits its mark, and touma visibly winces. “that’s not-” he knows the weight words hold but this isn’t the same as primitive’s claws digging into skin, tearing away at the people he cares about in mindless savagery. even to compare them feels wrong; yuuri has seen the extent of primitive dragon’s carnage and this? this is barely scratching the surface of touma’s emotions.

something softens in yuuri’s expression, though touma would be hard pressed to figure out exactly what had changed. “you said you love fukamiya,” he starts, pausing for a moment in between his words. touma hasn’t seen him look like this in all his time knowing the man, and faintly wonders if yuuri has ever had to think about what he says before. “but i’ve read your story. those friends of yours- you love them all, don’t you?”

“that’s different!” touma snarls disbelievingly, “yes, i love them but i _loved_ kento! how has this turned into some lecture on love of all things? kento sure as hell didn’t love me when he tried to turn me into dust!”

another confession that nobody in the room knows how to counter. yuuri steps forward to say something, but can’t figure out what exactly to say to touma. it’s not like he has a personal stake in the situation, nor did he have a reason to even get involved with touma’s little breakdown. 

“you’re not gonna get through to him, swordboy.” daishinji points out, now on his feet. he looks between the two, expression more thoughtful than annoyed. “just leave him be. the kid’s been through a lot, alright? no point in trying to fast track the coping process.”

touma goes silent, not meeting anyone’s eyes. 

beside him, rintaro shifts nervously. “touma-kun,” he starts, not sure exactly what to say. “i’m sorry for not noticing. it must’ve been hard for you, to have to move on so quickly.” it’s weird to express, because rintaro had also cared for kento deeply and mourned him alongside touma and the rest of the organization. but evidently the way touma had cared for kento was different from his, one that rintaro hadn’t even taken into account. 

“...’sn’t like anyone was supposed to know.” touma mumbles, the cold sense of embarrassment crashing over him like a wave. even if yuuri’s comparison felt clumsy, snapping at his friends was the opposite of what he wanted to do. harsh words in the heat of anger could never compare to nails and fangs piercing skin, shredding and tearing, but it didn’t make it less mortifying to breakdown so childishly in front of people he respected. 

“still-”

touma turns around, not letting rintaro finish. “i’m...going back to my store, alright? don’t follow me.”

the four swordsmen watch soundlessly as touma clumsily activates a book gate and flees the northern headquarters. there’s nothing anyone can really say, unsure if the novelist is going to be fine on his own but not willing to stop him. 

“well then.” oogami says, picking up gekido, “who wants mcdonalds? i’m driving.”

**Author's Note:**

> started drinking while watching decade and i guess this is the result somehow. i feel like its clear who my favorites in saber are (ps its not touma or kento so why did i even write this fic)
> 
> also the only thing you need to know is that kento has a mullet and wears a black longcoat because he deserves to look swag. jesus christ that potato sack is ugly (on that note did anyone else see that promo shot of him before sht and think it was just aoki doing modeling stuff i didnt think kentos insane ass was coming back)


End file.
